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Home -> 5785 -> Korach

כי כל העדה כלם קדושים ובתוכם ד' ומדוע תתנשאו על קהל ד'

Sruly Schnair
In Korach, 5785

For the entire assembly – all of them – are holy and Hashem is among them. Why do you exalt yourselves over the congregation of Hashem? (16:3)

Korach had all the answers. After all, he stipulated that he was acting l’shem Shomayim, for the sake of Heaven. He had no envy. He cared about the people, and they required a change in leadership. Chazal (Pirkei Avos 5:11) distinguish between: a machlokes, controversy, whose goal is to seek the truth and raise the banner of Hashem, a machlokes l’shem Shomayim; and one which is for personal benefit, she’lo l’shem Shomayim. Rambam writes that the words of he whose goal is the truth, unembellished and unvarnished, will have a kiyum, endure. Horav Chaim Shmuelevitz, zl, explains that the Rambam…

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Home -> 5785 -> Korach

ואם בריאה וברא ד' ופצתה האדמה את פיה ובלע אותם

Sruly Schnair
In Korach, 5785

But if Hashem will create a phenomenon, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them. (16:30)

Moshe Rabbeinu’s reaction to the sinful rebellion of Korach and his followers is atypical of our quintessential leader. This was the not first time the Jewish People had rebelled. First, it was the sin of the Golden Calf, which consisted of idol worship accompanied by licentious revelry. Nonetheless, Moshe asked Hashem to forgive them. Then came the meraglim, the princes who left as spies and returned as rebellious usurpers. We observe Tishah B’Av, our national day of mourning, thanks to their scurrilous report and the people’s inexcusable reaction. Once again, Moshe asked Hashem to accept their sincere repentance. Concerning Korach,…

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Home -> 5785 -> Korach

וילונו כל עדת בני ישראל ממחרת על משה ועל אהרן לאמר אתם המתים את עם ד'

Sruly Schnair
In Korach, 5785

The entire assembly of Bnei Yisrael complained on the morrow against Moshe and Aharon, saying, “You have killed the People of Hashem!” (17:6)

Leveling the complaint at Moshe and Aharon is ludicrous. The people saw how miraculously the ground had opened up beneath the usurpers, swallowing them before returning to its normal state. Moshe and Aharon were probably just as surprised as the people. They all saw the fire that burned the 250 men who had prepared and offered the incense. Clearly, Moshe and Aharon played no role in their deaths. Furthermore, why are these men referred to as Am Hashem, the people of G-d? They certainly were not acting very much like members of the Jewish People. Horav Meir Tzvi Bergman, Shlita,…

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Home -> 5785 -> Korach

ונתתם ממנו את תרומת ד' לאהרן הכהן

Sruly Schnair
In Korach, 5785

And you shall give from it a gift of Hashem to Aharon HaKohen. (18:28)

Chazal (Sanhedrin 90b) prove from the above pasuk that Techiyas Ha’Meisim, the Resurrection of the Dead, is supported min haTorah. The Torah enjoins the people to give their Terumah to Aharon HaKohen. Will Aharon live forever? He did not even enter into the Holy Land. This teaches us that he will one day be resurrected, and Klal Yisrael will again give him their Terumah. In Kovetz Maamarim (Onsham shel baalei middos megunos), Horav Elchonon Wasserman, zl, cites Chazal (Kesubos 111b) who teach that Techiyas Ha’Meisim has one criterion that should not be ignored. Unless one studies/has studied Torah or supported…

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Home -> 5785 -> Shelach

כלם אנשים ראשי בני ישראל המה

Sruly Schnair
In Shelach, 5785

They were all distinguished men, heads of Bnei Yisrael, were they. (13:4)

Parshiyos Shelach and Korach reveal Jewish leaders who fell from greatness to infamy. The Torah’s portrayal of the downfall of these leaders teaches us that no one is immune to failure, and even the most spiritually elevated must always be vigilant. One must scrutinize every change in behavior, in attitude, however minute, before it becomes a blatant flaw. Our parshah begins with the story of the meraglim, Nesiim, princes of the tribes, handpicked by Moshe Rabbeinu. Yet, their fear and self-destructive perception of Eretz Yisrael led to their personal downfalls, causing an entire generation to lose its opportunity to enter…

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Home -> 5785 -> Shelach

כלם אנשים ראשי בני ישראל המה

Sruly Schnair
In Shelach, 5785

They were all distinguished men, heads of Bnei Yisrael, were they. (13:4)

It happens: A leader to whom we have looked up, who, for all intents and purposes, has been the paragon of virtue — sins egregiously. It is not supposed to happen, because part of virtue is maintenance. A person — regardless of his exalted spiritual level — must work on himself constantly, or he will fail. Spiritual ascension is dynamic; if one takes a break to “enjoy the scenery,” he might become part of it. Rashi says that the meraglim, spies, were keshairim, kosher, righteous Jews — at first. Then something occurred which overwhelmed them, and they plummeted from their…

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Home -> 5785 -> Shelach

ויהס כלב את העם אל משה

Sruly Schnair
In Shelach, 5785

Kalev hushed the people toward Moshe. (13:30)

Rashi explains that when Kalev cried out, “Is it this alone that the son of Amram has done to us?” he caught the people off guard. When they heard this declaration, equating his rebuke of Moshe Rabbeinu as the “son of Amram,” in a seemingly degrading manner, they thought for certain that Kalev was coming out in support of a rebellion. They all became silent to listen to what he had to say. It was not what they expected to hear. Instead, he sang Moshe’s praises, relating his positive accomplishments for the people. One wonders what Kalev accomplished by this…

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Home -> 5785 -> Beha'alosecha

ויאמרו האנשים ההמה אליו אנחנו טמאים לנפש אדם למה נגרע לבלתי הקריב את קרבן ד' במועדו

Sruly Schnair
In Beha'alosecha, 5785

Those men said to him, “We are contaminated through a human corpse. Why should we be diminished by not offering Hashem’s korban in its appointed time?” (9:7)

These men had become ritually contaminated, a status which precludes them from participating in the Korban Pesach. This was an epic spiritual experience from which they did not want to be excluded. So intense was their desire to participate, they petitioned Moshe Rabbeinu to somehow include them. In recognition of their nobility and unparalleled sheifah, aspiration/yearning for this mitzvah, Hashem appointed them to be the medium through whom He would reveal the new mitzvah of Pesach Sheini, which would be offered one month after the appointed time for Pesach. The normal course of the Torah was to issue mitzvos through…

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Home -> 5785 -> Beha'alosecha

מי יאכילנו בשר... זכרנו את הדגה

Sruly Schnair
In Beha'alosecha, 5785

Who will feed us meat…? We remember the fish. (11:4,5)

The people clamored for meat. It is not as if they were being fed steak in Egypt, but, in the wilderness as free men, they felt that they had a right to ask for meat. If so, why did they add, “We remember the fish.” If they were asking for meat, why did they introduce the fact that they had eaten fish in Egypt? Horav Levi Yitzchak Berditchever, zl, explains that, with the manna, they were able to taste any food they liked. There was one contingency: it had to be a food with whose taste they were familiar. By…

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Home -> 5785 -> Beha'alosecha

והאיש משה ענו מאד מכל האדם אשר על פני האדמה

Sruly Schnair
In Beha'alosecha, 5785

Now the man Moshe was exceedingly humble, more than any person on the face of the earth. (12:3)

The Chafetz Chaim commented on the pasuk in Iyov 3:18, Katan v’gadal shom hu, “Small and great are equal there” (in the World of Truth). In the next world, all external differences disappear. The distinctions we make in this world between wealthy and poor, strong and weak, influential and unnoticed, are irrelevant in Olam Habba. In this world, the barometer for determining who is “considered” great and who is small is a superficial measure. Society elevates those who appear successful, while those who seem as insignificant go unnoticed. This is an illusion. In the World of Truth, the only barometer…

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